European Spallation Source

The European Spallation Source ERIC* (ESS) is a multidisciplinary research facility where neutrons will be used to probe the structure and behaviour of a wide range of materials down to the atomic level: from biological membranes to batteries, from archaeological artefacts to high-temperature superconductors. It will welcome around 2 000 researchers per year, from around the world, to carry out experiments over the full range of natural and engineering sciences, including topics related to energy, health and environment.

ESS is under construction in Lund, southern Sweden, with its Data Management and Scientific Computing centre located at the Technical University of Denmark, just outside Copenhagen. The facility is owned by 13 European countries** and is being built with extensive in-kind contributions from over 100 European laboratories, standing as a solid example of international collaboration.

As one of the largest science and technology infrastructure projects being built today, and with an official user programme scheduled to start in 2028, ESS has the ambition of becoming the world’s most impactful accelerator-based neutron source.

Unlike nuclear reactors, ESS uses high-energy protons striking a tungsten target to produce neutrons – a process called ‘spallation’. The facility design and construction include in its final stage the most powerful linear proton accelerator ever built. At the start of the user programme, a suite of 14 state-of-the-art neutron instruments will be available. This suite will continuously expand over the years to increase both capability and capacity. Right from the start, ESS users will be able to count on a range of support laboratories and a fully developed data pipeline from formulating proposals to planning experiments and analysing the data.

The exceptional brightness of the neutron beams and their long-pulse source design set ESS apart from other spallation sources, enabling experiments with greater sensitivity, resolution, and speed. ESS will deepen our understanding of the world around us and also contribute to strengthening Europe’s economic competitiveness and technological sovereignty.

*European Research Infrastructure Consortium
** Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom